Researchers Say Molybdenite Could Replace Silicon in Chips
Scientists at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) claim to have built an integrated circuit that uses molybdenite instead of silicon.
The researchers believe that molybdenite can surpass the physical limits of silicon in terms of miniaturization, electricity consumption, and mechanical flexibility.
"The main advantage of MoS2 is that it allows us to reduce the size of transistors, and thus to further miniaturize them," said Andras Kis, director at the Laboratory of Nanoscale Electronics and Structures (LANES) at EPFL. "It has not been possible up to this point to make layers of silicon less than two nanometers thick, because of the risk of initiating a chemical reaction that would oxidize the surface and compromise its electronic properties. Molybdenite, on the other hand, can be worked in layers only three atoms thick, making it possible to build chips that are at least three times smaller. At this scale, the material is still very stable and conduction is easy to control."
What makes molybdenite even more attractive is the fact that it is a "relatively abundant, naturally occurring mineral." The researchers said that it can directly compete with silicon as its structure and semiconducting properties make it "an ideal material for transistors." According to Kis, however, molybdenite transistors are more efficient, since they "can be turned on and off much more quickly, and can be put into a more complete standby mode." The researcher said that the material is about as good as silicon for the amplification of electric signals.
So far, the scientists have only built very basic chips with two to six transistors. They now want to build larger chips.
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what happened to Graphene,was met with the silicon replacement, and of this new stuff have the same heat qualities that Graphene has, it be nice to see the chips going to 50 GHz+
i came
I was also thinking Graphene. Apparently, this is more efficient than Graphene. however, will this still be able to be used even under 16 nm nodes considering MoS2 is larger than SiO2 or even xC6,( Graphene)?
Researchers are wrong a lot.
According to Yu-Ming Lin from IBM Research:
There is an important distinction between the graphene transistors that we demonstrated, and the transistors used in a CPU. Unlike silicon, ‘graphene does not have an energy gap, and therefore, graphene cannot be “switched off,” resulting in a small on/off ratio.
graphene is also extremely expensive, but that is changing quickly and may no longer be true as new industrial processes are introduced
Its all about money. The cheapest material wins...
Its all about money. The cheapest material wins...
It will be expensive at first. When it takes off it will get cheaper...
Its all about money. The cheapest material wins...
"strawberry flavored cranberries"
Exactly... they even do it in your snack bars.
i think graphene is good for high frequency analog signals
I thought intel was working on light to replace silicon
I thought intel was working on light to replace silicon
Well they are, but the whole processor cannot be light. Each 'light transistor' must have a diode and a receiver. Those millions of leds and receivers will take a fair amount of material to control and route power to each one.
I think the silicon chip would need to replaced by artificial diamonds in 10 years or after because they 10x or more conductive than the current super conductors that are used in chips. By using them the chips would have super efficient and very small in size so will be powerful though they will have a hugh price point.
then we can have performance like that of i7-3960k in a mobile phone like device
I think the silicon chip would need to replaced by artificial diamonds in 10 years or after because they 10x or more conductive than the current super conductors that are used in chips. By using them the chips would have super efficient and very small in size so will be powerful though they will have a hugh price point.
I can see the new commercial from "de Beers"; a Diamond is a computer geeks best friend. :-)
And iPods will be sold exclusively thru "Jared" of course.
When they start talking about transistors in terms of only a handful of molecules in size, I begin to wonder about what new and quirky quantum physics is going to come into play.
Well, the industry had the means to switch over to either graphene, diamonds, or even 'hybrids' of all those materials over a decade ago.
Graphene was actually first 'thought' (at least by mainstream views) as a silicon replacement.
Realistically, we could have had quantum computers by now in the market.
Consumer grade tech is about 5 to 6 decades behind 'actual' technological progress.
Majority of these 'inventions' are just yet another way to keep recycling same or similar computing methods without having to switch to an entirely new system (one of the issues why they don't want to do it is because software development is abysmal... so even if they put out a quantum computer out into the open today -which they probably can, writing the software for it is a different story).
All of this is yet another method to gear up more money. Nothing else.
Otherwise, we'd be long past this level.
I have not doubt that scientists will eventually discover a suitable replacement for silicon.
What's the difference between molybdenum and molybdenite? Molybdenum is in my engine oil as an emergency anti-wear additive (graphite) and it's in my multivitamin apparently too.
Well, the industry had the means to switch over to either graphene, diamonds, or even 'hybrids' of all those materials over a decade ago.Graphene was actually first 'thought' (at least by mainstream views) as a silicon replacement.Realistically, we could have had quantum computers by now in the market.Consumer grade tech is about 5 to 6 decades behind 'actual' technological progress.Majority of these 'inventions' are just yet another way to keep recycling same or similar computing methods without having to switch to an entirely new system (one of the issues why they don't want to do it is because software development is abysmal... so even if they put out a quantum computer out into the open today -which they probably can, writing the software for it is a different story).All of this is yet another method to gear up more money. Nothing else.Otherwise, we'd be long past this level.
Very insightful observation, my friend. +1
What's the difference between molybdenum and molybdenite? Molybdenum is in my engine oil as an emergency anti-wear additive (graphite) and it's in my multivitamin apparently too.
Molybdenum is chemical element and molybdenite is chemical compound that is made of molybdenum.
"I have not doubt that scientists will eventually discover a suitable replacement for silicon."
Ahh thanks for that. Let me know when you more less doubt and maybe more or possibly some.
five to six decades? So at the beginning of the Vietnam war, they had processors as good as my quad core phenom ii in the military? I think not, but then again many astronauts attest to the fact we are and have been visited by other alien races for many decades now, and surely they would of had more advanced tech than the public has today. So in that regard, you might be correct.
... so even if they put out a quantum computer out into the open today -which they probably can, writing the software for it is a different story).
I agree! I mean I get a headache just thinking of the implication of each condition in a CASE statement being true all at once...
molly mines in North Western Quebec - even Thorium deposits there - ignored since the 40's due to lack of stable markets, well worth another look now-a-days!